Letters: Vatican, vouchers and violence

Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, stands on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome after his election to pope. He took the name Francis.Vincenzo Pinto/Getty Images

Inspired papal election

Pope Francis’ first message from the balcony was a lesson in humility — a deep bow, a silent prayer wherein he embraced all humankind, followed by the Catholic prayers. It was an affirmation of the traditional theological doctrines, as well as the social teachings of the Catholic Church.

The College of Cardinals did make an inspired, savvy choice. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was well-known as a man steeped in science as well as deep faith; a humble man who took the bus to work and quite often cooked his own meals while upholding the majestic, awe-inspiring traditions of the Catholic Church. One should not expect the pope to deviate from immutable Catholic doctrines; one can expect him to focus more on the marginalized and the poor.

We all know where the church has fallen short. It appears that Francis, with his administrative skills, can lead the way and be the way.

Mervyn D’Souza, Edison

Hospital needs N.J. funding

Everyone should welcome an established and transparent manager for University Hospital. The special mission of University Hospital is to care for the neediest patients in Newark, no matter what.

We who work on the front lines of the hospital know how much our patients rely on us. But a good manager will only go so far. Now we need the state to step up and provide the financial support that will help our hospital thrive.

Ahmad Yousaf, Little Ferry

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Reject school vouchers

Gov. Chris Christie, a rich and powerful white man, goes into a black neighborhood and tells them he’s the only one who cares about their children. If they don’t do what Christie says, then they don’t care. The condescension is breathtaking. He should never stop apologizing.

The greatest difference between success and failure in education is money. This is the dirty little secret of education policy. Conservatives have decided to use the education crisis as an excuse for some good old-fashioned union-busting. Unfortunately, we are not going to bust our way to school excellence. Voucher programs’ main function is subversion of the teacher’s union.

John L. Ard Jr., Summit

Give us the poor

President Obama said of providing a path to citizenship for immigrants: “We need to shorten the wait time for skilled laborers and engineers.” We need to train our own people to be skilled workers and engineers. We do need to shorten the wait time for unskilled laborers, who are the majority of undocumented immigrants. Unskilled laborers do the jobs our people don’t want to do, such as landscaping.

The majority of U.S. citizens are descendants of unskilled laborers. My maternal grandparents were a cook and a factory worker before coming to America. If we don’t want to welcome the poor, we need to change the inscription on the Statue of Liberty.
We will never solve the problem of undocumented immigration if we keep our elitist stance, forget our roots and attempt to exclude the poor from our country.

Joyce Gould, Hopatcong

Punishing adjuncts

The Affordable Care Act takes effect Jan. 1, 2014. Part of the law’s unintended consequences will be its effect on higher education in New Jersey. IRS regulations declare that, when computing status for health care coverage, any employee working 30 hours a week or more are considered full time. This has already caused a reduction in hours for restaurant staff and retail workers. The regulations actually mention adjunct faculty as a special category.

Adjuncts usually receive no health benefits, are given assignments weeks or days before the start of the semester, and receive less than a full-time faculty member for teaching the same course. Nationwide, more than 70 percent of all higher ed faculty are contingent, at-will employees.

Some of New Jersey’s county colleges already plan to cut the number of credits adjuncts are teaching so they don’t have to pay for health coverage. This would be a financial disaster for many adjuncts who rely only on teaching for survival.

The colleges are taking the easy way out and penalizing one of the groups of workers who were supposed to be helped by Obamacare.

William J. Lipkin, United Adjunct Faculty of New Jersey

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GOP’s rough ride

Paul Mulshine’s column (“GOP needs a 47 percent solution,” March 17) on why the GOP nominated Romney was right on the money when he wrote: “Republicans traditionally pick their leader based on who’s next in line, just like they do in country clubs.” He probably could have followed the political food chain and included state, county and local Republican organizations.

It has been my experience to know that if you’re not a pawn on their chess board, moving into politics is very difficult, to say the least. In all fairness, Democrats move in similar circles.

New Jersey’s local Republicans are running with the hope of riding in on the coattails of Gov. Chris Christie, should he be re-elected. I voted for him last time; I’m not so sure this time around. He has plenty of coattails, but the trip may be rougher than they think.

Richard J. Galioto Sr., Bloomfield

Snub to be proud of

I was thrilled when I found out Gov. Chris Christie did not receive an invitation to last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference. He is so far above the silliness.

Of all the potential Republican presidential candidates, Christie has the highest marks on the presidential timber chart. His message is clear: “Let’s get this done.”

I look forward to the Republican presidential debates. Those in that spotlight will quickly see our governor is not one to brush aside. Although I’m a left-leaning liberal, I don’t always vote that way. Gov. Christie, you have my ear.

Samuel Monaco, Bloomfield

Safer without arms

I am safer without a gun. It’s true — I’m 22 times safer than someone with a gun in their household. I am safer because I live in a state with stricter gun laws than other states where regulation is lax and gun violence is greater. I am safer because gun ownership has declined nationally since World War II, to about 23 percent in New Jersey.

I would be even safer if loopholes in gun laws were closed, and assault weapons and high-capacity magazines were banned.